ShalePro Energy Services

Quarterly Newsletter

Q3 2018 - In the Field

Well Hook-ups

ShalePro’s production and facility construction operations have expanded and matured tremendously during the past decade and have earned a great reputation throughout the Appalachian Basin. Shalepro has formed countless lasting relationships with some of the largest and smallest producers in the area. Starting off with a small group of guys years ago wondering what a “well hook-up” even was, ShalePro has grown to more than 300 well trained and knowledgeable experts.

Well Hook-up is a very broad term and has many different meanings to every person. Ultimately this term is meant to describe the process of transporting the gas from the well head through the separation process and metering on to the nearest pipeline. Every company we perform this work for requires a different setup or process to achieve this goal. While a simple dry well hook-up may only require a couple days to complete. A very complex wet setup may take weeks.

The beginning stages of our work, and probably one of the most important, is site prep. Starting off with a nice level pad for GPUS and your tank battery is key. A lot of time and thought goes in to proper placement. Looking at drawings and P&IDs compared to building it on an empty pad can be overwhelming. This training and knowledge comes from lots of trials and troubleshooting from performing this task over and over.

Piping, who could ever dream there would be so many different sizes, schedules, and grades of pipe? Coated or bare? “Is this threaded or welded?” is probably one the most common questions. After we have determined what pipe we have and where it’s needed, we begin the same process with fittings. Sorting and layout of parts and pieces can sometimes take days to get ready and assure it’s all there and properly matched. Most projects now require us to record all heat numbers and match to MTR’s provided from supplier. We have a designated employee that spends their entire time just recording this info and attaching it to mapped drawings of the finished project.

Welding has to be the most crucial yet most time consuming part of the process. One bad weld can create a disaster and huge loss of time. We hold our welders to a very high standard and require a lot from them. Welding takes place on the back of trucks, on stands and cribbing strung out around the job site, as well as in ditches. Every company we work for requires our welders to take a welding test that certifies them to a procedure that best matched the application. These tests can vary anywhere from 2 -10 hours based on requirements.

During ditching and pipe placement, some lines get buried and some stay above ground This is different for every customer and mainly is based off of best practices and preference. Ditches can range anywhere from 6” to 6’ deep. Once our pipe has been welding and x-rayed, we are ready to coat the welds and wrap the pipe in rock shield. When installing the pipe into ditch, it’s always best to lay it on sand bags on a sand bedding to protect.

Bolt up and torque. “What’s this flange get torqued too?” this is something our guys spout off in their sleep I believe. It’s also a very arguable subject as there are tons of different torque values. Is it a ring joint, raised face, or iso kit being installed? Each application requires something different, and surprisingly to most, this isn’t something commonly provided or expressed by manufacturer due to liability. The torqueing methods vary greatly. Multiple hand torque wrenches, hydraulic wrenches, as well as air and battery Impacts.

Once everything has been completed its time for pad cleanup and final walk through. This check usually takes place with multiple company reps to check over and point out any flaws or areas of concern. Once checked off on we are ready to turn over to our customer for the next stage.

ShalePro currently performs facility construction and maintenance for SWN, Gulfport, CNX, Antero, NNE, EQT, Williams, Tug Hill/XCL, Greylock, and Diversified. These companies admire our hard work and dedication on their sites each and every day. Providing services 24/7, no matter the size or distance of project, our customers know that we will be there to provide top notch work. Shalepro provides experience in wet, dry and conventional well hookups. Tight timeline and SimOps projects are a normal day for us. We strive to be challenged in this growing and fast paced environment each step of the way. Our guys love the diversity of going from a two well dry hookup to a 24 well wet hookup in the same week. Its overcoming challenges like these that make us who we are today.

A lot of time and strategic steps go in to every project we perform. Our team goes through tons of training each day. However, most will say that the best way to learn, is by watching others and listening to anything and everything someone will tell you. The more of it you do the better you will be.